


Snow Angel

by Pinako



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Father-Son Relationship, Feelings, Fluff and Angst, Hurt No Comfort, I'M SORRY DAMIAN, M/M, but all those feelings are slight because of my bad english writing, but also father-son-romantic relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-04
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:27:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,851
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27878374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinako/pseuds/Pinako
Summary: After five years, Damian came back to Gotham and met Bruce.
Relationships: Bruce Wayne/Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson & Bruce Wayne & Damian Wayne, Dick Grayson/Bruce Wayne, Dick Grayson/Damian Wayne
Kudos: 14





	Snow Angel

**Author's Note:**

  * A translation of [Snow Angel](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27810097) by [Pinako](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pinako/pseuds/Pinako). 



> I tried to translate one of my fics into english. English is not even my second language, so... there may be many mistakes. Still, hope you guys enjoy this fic^^

_Memory_  
Present

***  
_As the snow thickened, Damian’s landing stirred up a surface layer of freshly fallen snow, some of which, clung to the boy’s exposed cheeks and quickly melted into cool water._

_“It’s been a surprisingly cold winter in Gotham this year, ” Dick beside him rubbed his hands, yet the design of the suit wouldn’t let Batman feel this cold. Damian ignored him, patting away the snow that had piled up on his cape on his own. “Tt, the cold won’t stop those fools, ” He scowled, “and it won’t make patrol any better.”_

_Dick swung his dark, heavy cape behind him and spun around Damian. The man let out a childish, horrible giggle. “But we don’t have any more company tonight! ” He looked down to examine the tracks on the ground, he nodded. “A perfect circle. ”_

_Damian couldn’t help but look down as well, and indeed, the edge of Batman’s Cape draped over the ground, sweeping the snow with Dick’s movement, casting a circular shadow. “If you’re really bored, we can go back to training, ” said Damian, then the boy alarmed by the sudden shrinking of the white patch as he looked into the bat’s goggles._

_“Oh - Robin, why don’t we warm up here? ” Dick picked up his cape, and lunged at Robin, who was unconsciously sinking his weight with alert, “Watch out!”_

_Damian pushed aside Dick, who had locked himself in with his full weight, gasping for breath from the fierce struggle, and Dick breathed in beside him, sounding like a well-functioning bellows, and more likely he was gasping from pleasure. Discouragement was only a momentary emotion, and Damian, lying in the snow on one of some Gotham’s rooftops, swallowed his slight frustration and panic, and looked over his shoulder at his partner._

_The snow was getting heavier, which Gotham wasn’t supposed to have at this time of year. At that time, Damian watched snowflakes pile up on Dick’s mask, melting on the man’s bare skin to him cracked lip, “Robin, ” he wondered what had just come out of those plush lips, “Robin! ”_

_Dick caught Damian’s eye behind his white lenses and pulled his attention away from nowhere. “Robin, we should go back. ” His lips curved into a smile, tearing open the wound and blood flowed, Damian remained lying with his hand outstretched trying to wipe away the diffused red color._

_Damian reached out, but his hand missed Dick’s bleeding lips. The distance is too far, it’s too far away._

_Dick, unaware of this, stuck out his tongue to lick away the blood and reaches out to touch Damian’s fingertips. “Since you still want to lie down, ” Dick had a smile in his voice, “Robin, hold out your other arm like this. ”_

_“I don’t know if you’ve ever played this before, but you could try it-” Damian almost jumped off the ground, while Dick was waving his arms and legs fast in front of him. ‘There better not be any monitors around.’ Damian didn’t know he’s this desperate, but still, he didn’t get up. Robin hesitantly, slowly, waved his arms and legs beside an overly lively Batman._

_“Now, let’s see what we get! “Dick stopped moving and jumped up, light and cheerful as if he hadn’t just gone crazy on the floor. Without a word, Damian followed and looked at the tracks in the snow. He was pulled into hug by Dick beside him, “My Cape is too big, it completely ruined the snow, but look at yours, ” Damian felt his face flushed, maybe too much snow had fallen on it, “What a perfect snow angel, Robin. "_

***  
Damian opened his eyes, his white red and black dreams spread out, and the beep of reminder that the aircraft was about to land became clear. He shut it down and let the aircraft climb again, cryogenic temperature are not fatal to fuel free instruments, but still, it’s a test of metal construction. He stabilized at the height that the cryogenic alarm was lowest, hovered and dropped the rope.

Damian put on a suit of the highest level of protective cryogenic armor, set a time for the craft to return, jump out, rappel down a rope ladder. A minute later he was walking through the snow, behind him, aircraft accelerated away. Damian reached out and turned off his coms. All that was left was a filtered sound of snowstorm in his earphones. He stared off into the distance, on the lenses of his goggles, Damian spotted a tiny black dot.

It took him nearly an hour to walk to the black spot, to stand in front of it – a door, actually - where the hum of armor running blended with the wind, almost blocking out the sound of precision latches crisscrossing and unlocking.

Damian didn’t miss the sound. He opened the door, a right kind of resistance to make a feeling of realistic contact through his gloves. And Damian knew that if the door didn’t want to be opened, he wouldn’t to push it open, even with the help of his armor.

“Thank you for letting me in, ” Damian said, taking off his mask as he entered, his sweaty hair quickly freezing in the low temperature, white mist rising from his breath. A short flash of red light from one of the monitors on ceiling let Damian know which camera he should look into. He blinked, “Please tell me how to go down to your position, Father. ”

The scene of encounter was much brighter than Damian had imagined. He stood in the light of cave and watched Bruce walk down the stairs with a cup of coffee. The right leg that was badly injured five years ago – their last meeting in Damian’s memory has recovered. Bruce greeted him from afar, “Good morning.” and Damian nodded in reply. “You have some changes. ” he added in a low voice.

“If you don’t remove the rest of your armor, I can only tell you that you haven’t changed much. ” Bruce stepped closer and he looked up at Damian, “Damian, how much vision do you have left in your right eye? ” The man’s hair was all grey, but the blue eyes, which Damian once saw as steel, now had some illusory feeling that it’s some kind of ice that could melt in his palm.

***  
_By the next winter, Damian was back at Wayne Manor, and Batman with robin by his side, was silent again. Dick was still around and in the middle of a night, he visited manor, outside snow melted as soon as it touched the ground._

_“I’ve missed you. ” Damian didn’t hesitate to confess that to Dick, “Father is a different Batman. ” Dick made a meaningless sound and rocked Damian in his arms. “ Damian, I miss you, too. ”He was about to roll the boy into his arms. “Still going out patrol tonight? ”_

_Damian nodded. He had no intention of expressing his expectations, but Dick rarely disappointed him. “Come on, let me join you guys today. ” Dick tapped the boy on shoulder. “Let’s go tell Bruce. ”_

_This was actually the first time Nightwing had joined their patrol, and it was not as if Dick had not come back, nor as if he had not once again hopped between Gotham buildings at night. But that’s often because Bruce was out in a League’s action, and Gotham needs a Batman, and a _Robin_ , of course._

_Damian doesn’t like to question that. He’s proud of who he is, either way. He was born that way, that’s what Dick told him.  
“What would you do without me? ”He asked the man when Dick came back as Batman once, not in a questioning tone, more like stating some fact, but still, Dick gave him an answer, “How could I live without you. “He smiles behind Batman’s mask Gotham city may not be used to, but it’s something more familiar to Damian._

_So Damian never doubted that, **Batman** needed **Robin** , needed him._

***  
“We’re leaving again in three days. ” In Damian’s hand was also a mug, pure white with a bat logo and filled with hot tea. In the cave, temperature was not high, but a hoodie and a cup of hot tea was enough to warm one up in a thin sweat. “Is the intensity of the enemy’s attack the same as last time? ” Bruce muttered in a nearby chair.

Damian shook his head. “The results are similar to the one five years ago. “He felt, after speaking, that he was out of synch with Bruce’ breathing for a moment. Damian lifted his gaze and, unlike his calm breath, Bruce’s expression wasn’t unchanged, “ This time we could have been much better prepared. "

“Even so, Earth must be prepared for an attack beyond its defenses. ” Damian put down his empty mug and leaned back in his chair, looking from down to parallel with Bruce’s gaze. The man placed his mug beside Damian’s. “You mean to prepare me for your death. ”

Damian’s breath missed another beat, his old self might have considered it was a sign of weakness, he thought. But now Damian knew it was just proof that there was no other choice but to accept what he felt.

“Yes. ” He didn’t know why he was making what might be called a smile, “so I thought I should come and see you. ”

The silence lasted too long.  
Damian got up from his chair and leaned forward, bending his knees to rest on Bruce’s lap, looking up at the man’s face. “You know exactly what I’m talking about, Father. ” Bruce’s eyes opened wide in the deep shadow of eye sockets. Damian pressed his cheek deeper into Bruce’s warm thighs. “Bruce, say something, please. ”

***  
_“Bruce, say something, ” Dick said in a voice confused by chewing, “you can’t just stand there and look at me. ” To Damian, his azure Eyes seemed to have a dazed naivete. But Damian doubted that Dick knew exactly what Bruce was going to say._

_“Damian, why don’t you go help Alfred? ” Dick, however, instead of waiting Bruce’s response, looked at Damian, knowing that this ridiculous request was basically an evasive request in another tone. Damian wouldn’t give a hand to Alfred who obviously doesn’t need it, he would just go back to his room, pull out light warm clothes, flip out onto windowsill and sit on the ledge next to the living room where Dick and Bruce were in._

_They must have waited until they were sure he had entered the room before they began to speak. Damian sat cross legged and waited, bored, for someone starting the conversation, or, war._

_His father’s voice came out a moment later, “He listens to you. ” Damian bit back the urge to snort. Accepting a request and obeying an order were not the same. And Damian did wonder how Dick would answer, would he tell his father that he is so wrong?_

_“He loves you too. ” Dick’s response was irrelevant. “What are you trying to say, Bruce? I’m tired of guessing. And even if I could guess you correctly, I’d rather you tell me yourself. ”_

_“I just wanted to ask that, do you even know, what you’re doing? ” Father’s voice was supposed to be steady, but Damian detected a lack of confidence in it. He hadn’t expected that his father could had a moment to be heard as tired and weak as Grayson. And Grayson needed Damian because he was always so, weak. Would his father rely on him like Grayson? And Damian hoped the answer was no, Robin is not the one cleaning up Batman’s messes. He should be dormant, observing and becoming his father, becoming Batman, not a band aid._

_“He craves my dependence. ” Instead of waiting for Grayson’s answer, Father’s voice became aggressive: “Why did you let Damian gain your trust and then let him lose it, even if he doesn’t realize it yet? ” Silence. “You’re pushing him toward me. ”_

_Dick asked back, as if it were a matter of course, “Bruce, is he a good Robin? ” The curiosity in the words sends chills down Damian’s spine._

_That’s how the war broke out, after Dick’s simple question, as Damian felt the winter’s chill deeper._

_And Bruce sounded like Batman, “Don’t, dare you, talk about my son, like that,” footsteps, chairs moving, “it’s my responsibility to teach him how to grow up, Dick, not yours! ”_

_“BUT YOU'RE DEAD! ” Dick’s silence was broken by his sudden scream. “So he was my responsibility then! ”_

_“So loving him at that time, was my thing! ”_

_Father’s anger disappeared, like snow outside window melting beside Damian’s hand. Footsteps, footsteps. Damian thought, Oh, now they’re hugging each other. He looked over his shoulder, the window’s reflection of Grayson buried in Bruce’s shoulder. “I’m back, Dick.” his father’s voice was still a little stiff, “But you can’t do this anymore. It’s not something you have to do to make him trust me and, and love me. It’s something I should try to get. ”_

_“Bruce, as much as I wish he were mine – he’s your Robin, ” added Dick sullenly, “He is already in love with you. ”_

_Damian lowered his folded legs and looked down along his own body. The sun light, which had not warmed at the beginning of the day, was already glimmering on the well-groomed lawn of Wayne Manor, but he was still cold. Damian looked up toward the horizon, above the rising sun, ominous shadows hung high. Something was coming._

_That’s how the war started, before the sun shone brightly._

***  
_It would be two years before Damian got chance to see Dick again. Nightwing was removing the scarf from his neck when he entered the underground base, and Damian saw him from a distance, along with Batman, who was walking up to him. His two mentors forehead touched as greeting, and when the brief, intimate moments were over, Batman said something, they both look at Damian._

_Damian is still Robin, but he was not just working with Batman. Still, everyone assumed that finding Robin would lead to finding Batman, and vice versa._

_He nods to the figure below, and as Damian ponders whether to go down, Dick pulled away from his father and runs up the stairs. “Robin! ” Nightwing’s armor was a bit thicker -- the environment changed people, after all you couldn’t do quadruple flip when every vein in your body was flowing with ice. Damian had reached the tip of Dick’s nose, but he kept his head down so that he could bury his head into Dick’s shoulder._

_“I’ve miss you. ”_

***  
Bruce’s scent was still the same as Damian’s memory, a mixture of Batman and his father. Damian lowered his eyes to the ground and felt the palm of his father against his cheek, lifting his head from his leg. “Damian, I’m sorry, ” his father sounded so sincere. “I hope you survive. ”

“No one ever wants to die, ” murmured Damian, looking up into the blue eyes similar to his own, and which, unlike Grayson’s sky blue, were always shallower and sharper.

“But no one should die of murder. ”

Damian closed her eyes hard, enough to feel pain, “Fath... Bruce, you don’t have to -…” 

“maybe you think it’s your own choice, Damian. ” In the dark, Bruce’s breathing at last changed rhythm, in a slower tone, Damian’s father continued, “but this is Dick’s, and also my mistake. The path you’re on, it’s not... ” 

“It was my choice, Bruce. “Damian kept his eyes closed, “and no one can force me to make a choice. ” 

“Except for the ones you love. ”

“Dick is dead, ” Damian heard his own shrill voice, like he was recalling that cold early morning before the war began, where he and Dick’s cries coincide, “even if you stay here and take any chance of finding him, Bruce, he’s all ... gone, five years ago. "

Damian was like that he was tearing himself apart with his once cold self, “Wasn’t his death enough. ”Bruce’s voice cracked, “Even if Dick were gone, it wouldn’t change the fact, Damian, that he and I murdered you together. "

Damian lunged forward and punched Bruce in the jaw.

As the coolness of the cave ground soaked into his skin through his sweaty hoodie, Damian heard himself gasping, while Bruce’s breathing finally became rapid and deep.

“Your blind spot in your right eye doesn’t affect you much anymore, but it still can be a weak point.”

Damian laughed. “If I had heard that ten years ago, younger-me would have been anxious. ” 

“Maybe I should say,” said Bruce, smiling, as if a little shy. “You’ve done well, Damian. ”

“Hell, you sound so much like Grayson, ” Damian said, wrinkling his nose. “What younger-me will be afraid of is that even after all these years, you’re still not satisfied with him and he’s still fail to live up to your expectations. ”

“Do you still think that now? ” Bruce’s sigh was right next his ear.

“No. “Damian smiled, “I’m not Robin anymore, Father, I’m Batman.” 

He looked up as if he could see sky through the top of cave, blue and white, like the earth to which Nightwing had fallen, at the moment the defensive perimeter broke.

End


End file.
